Pinto Abalone

At a glance

Pinto Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) is an IUCN Endangered abalone regulated in 3 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

Confirmed by 2,321 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with British Columbia, Alaska, and California the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• The northernmost abalone in the eastern Pacific, ranging as far north as Alaska.
• Its mottled brown-and-white shell pattern gives the species its 'pinto' name.
• Shell typically reaches about 6 inches (15 cm) at full size.
• Thrives in cold, rocky subtidal habitats along the Pacific Northwest coast.
• Populations have declined sharply due to decades of overharvesting.

Where Pinto Abalone are seen

• British Columbia1,926 iNat obs
• Alaska275 iNat obs
• California101 iNat obs
• Washington17 iNat obs
• Oregon2 iNat obs

Background

Haliotis kamtschatkana, common name the northern abalone or pinto abalone, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Pinto Abalone article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other abalone on CatchRules

• Pink AbaloneHaliotis corrugata